


I've been really good this year (not really but please kiss me anyway?)

by LI0NH34RT



Series: Christmas Time [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Mall Santa - Freeform, Pining, Thiam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28076109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LI0NH34RT/pseuds/LI0NH34RT
Summary: The little wolf's boxer shorts have printed on reindeer. Ones eating cookies, ones decorating trees, ones drinking tea and ones wrapping gifts. It's… distracting to say the least.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: Christmas Time [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2046095
Comments: 17
Kudos: 63





	I've been really good this year (not really but please kiss me anyway?)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shatteeran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatteeran/gifts).



> Let the Christmas story marathon begin!
> 
> For Theo. Thank you for the spirals and the listening. 💙

"Fuck! Where are these damn pants-", Liam says more than that but the majority of his sentence is lost to the innards of his closet as he starts to pull out random items and throw them behind his back haphazardly. 

Theo, currently located on the Beta's bed, gets hit by a t-shirt but he couldn't care less. 

Not when he is so transfixed by the sight before him.

By Liam.

Liam, who is currently wearing a red and white colored fluffy vest and a Santa hat, sloping on his tousled hair. No pants. That's apparently what he is searching for but Theo can't be sure because he is too concentrated on staring-not-staring at Liam's reindeer. And no, this is not an euphemism. 

The little wolf's boxer shorts have printed on reindeer. Ones eating cookies, ones decorating trees, ones drinking tea and ones wrapping gifts. It's… distracting to say the least and Theo knows he should tell Liam that Jenna has his Santa pants because they were too big for him and she offered to sew them a little tighter, but then Liam bends forward to look under his desk and Theo's brain just short-circuits.

This is all Liam’s fault anyways. 

One year ago Theo would have been completely unfazed by too cute for their own good stand in Alphas who volunteered to play Santa at the mall because they "want to give back" to Beacon Hills. 

What happened?

Oh, yeah, said too cute for his own good stand in Alpha made him fall in love.

That's the moment Jenna chooses to open the door to Liam's bedroom, she takes in the chaos, her frantically searching son and Theo, slightly blushing at being caught.

A sly grin creeps onto her face as she silently lays the pants on the bed next to Theo and then retreats from the warzone.

~🎄~

Somehow Liam makes it to his first day of Santa business on time

(It's because Theo runs two red lights on their way to the mall.) and somehow he actually has fun. 

Despite him spending their entire drive there working himself up "What if the kids don't like me, Theo? What if one starts crying on my lap? This was such a bad idea. Why did I think this was a good idea?" Liam climbs into Theo's truck with a smile on his face when he finished his first shift. 

He smells like too many different people and Theo hates it but the brilliant smile on Liam’s face and the happiness in his scent make up for that.

It becomes a ritual after that, Theo drives Liam to the mall on Friday and Saturday afternoons and then either works his way through Jenna's grocery lists or just wanders around wintery Beacon Hills aimlessly until it's time to pick up the Beta again.

Today the list Jenna needs was short and so Theo decides to go watch the last hour of Liam's workday. If he is lucky something embarrassing will happen and he can tease him on the way home (Liam always flushes so beautifully when he is worked up).

When he reaches the little plaza on ground floor where Santa holds court most of the children for the day are already gone, only a short line is waiting on their parents' sides for their turn to go up to Santa.

A blonde girl, dressed like an elf, green tights, bell hat and all, steps into Theo's path. She is smiling an obnoxiously cheery smile.

"I am sorry, Santa is tired for today, so you have to come back tomorrow!"

The Chimera peels his eyes away from Liam’s happy face when he smiles for a picture with the little boy on his lap and focuses on the elf girl.

"I am only waiting for Liam, thanks."

The professional smile on the girl's face turns dreamy as she sighs, "Liam… he is amazing with the children you know? Everyone loves him!"

_ Huh. Everyone? _

Theo carefully sniffs the air around the girl and yep, definitely more than just admiration for Liam's work moral.

Thankfully the last kid passes them, happily rambling to his dad about the "super cool new bmx bike I am getting from Santa" and then Liam, already pulling his fluffy white beard down to grin at them, walks over.

"Phew! It's always so hot under this thing!" He discards his coat too, showing off muscular arms in the tight red and white vest he's wearing underneath. 

Theo is feeling a little hot too, all of a sudden. He cleans his throat, "so, you're ready for dinner, Li? Your mum is making curry again."

Liam's eyes light up at the prospect of food in general and curry in specific, "oh my god, that's my favourite."

The elf watches their exchange with curious eyes, "you guys are living together?", she asks and Theo has to suppress a grin as his wolf outright preens at her obvious jealousy. 

Liam, having turned around to retrieve his bag from behind the Santa armchair straightens up again.

"Oh yeah, right. Theo, this is Bethany, the elf who stops parents from strangling each other. Bethany, this is Theo, my…", he hesitates for a millisecond, Theo is sure he's the only one who notices, "my Theo", Liam ends the sentence finally, cheeks dusted with a light blush.

"Come on, Li, we wouldn't want to keep Jenna waiting right?", Theo breaks the awkward silence and Liam gratefully nods, "yeah, she really hates it when we are late for curry. See you next week, Beth!", the last part he already speaks overfishing shoulder in the process of pulling Theo towards the parking lot but the Chimera doesn't miss the nickname or the way "Beth's" heart beats faster at it.

_ She has to go _ , his coyote states and the wolf unruly paces through his chest, only calmed by Liam's hand, still securely wrapped around his wrist.

~🎄~

In the end it was disturbingly easy and Theo would be concerned about it if he wasn't so proud.

It turns out Bethany loves to go ice skating with her friends but because she is a goddamn perfectionist she always stays longer than the group, putting in some real figure skating training. And she's good. But Theo is better.

Well, not at ice skating; his bones are only intact right now because he heals fast; but all it needed was a well calculated hole in the ice on the part of the rink Theo knew Bethany would practice and she went flying onto the ice.

Deep down inside his sister's heart he knows that he did a bad thing when he hears her wrist bones shatter but she will be alright and hey, Theo never claimed to be a good person now. (Isn't less murder enough?!)

It is mayhem when Theo arrives at the mall on Friday evening, the replacement elf is a shy little thing, barely out of middle school and he doesn't say a word when his glasses fog up under an enraged mother's screaming to his face.

Theo sighs. He can smell the upset children and he can also smell Liam slowly descending into panic so he makes a decision.

"Alright ladies and gents! This rodeo is over! If you please would reform an orderly line before we have to call security and remove you from this establishment!"

His voice carries wide and the little extra force he put in doesn't hurt either as the crowd finally shuts up, eyeing him curiously. 

"And who are you?", a particularly persistent mother, the one who yelled at the elfling before, asks. Theo smiles at her, his teeth a little sharper than humanly possible.

"I am the nightmare before Christmas", he plugs the bell hat from the kid's head (somehow he didn't ran of but merely had hidden behind Theo in all the chaos), "and the new security elf. So now - who wants to see Santa?"

The kids cheer and under the pressure of their happiness, a line forms and order returns.

~🎄~

The downside about helping out is that people expect you to stick around after it, Theo thinks, because when the mall manager came over, conveniently after the situation was resolved, she hired Theo as their new elf on the spot.

The upside is that he now doesn't have time to kill waiting for Liam to finish his work but he actually gets to spend more time with him.

And that alone is definitely worth it because the sheer happiness the Beta radiates when listening to the kids is absolutely addictive and holding back from just taking his face into both hands and kissing him senseless becomes harder and harder each day. That part Theo is not sure whether to call an upside or downside.

And so the time flies by and before Theo knows it, their last shift before Christmas is nearing its end.

The last little girl hops down from Liam’s lap, smiling as she runs back to her dad, "bye Santa!"

When the pair disappears into the mass of last minute shoppers, Liam throws a glance at the big clock dominating the mall wall they are facing, he gets up from his chair, he stretches stiff limbs and then turns to look at Theo.

"So, that was it, huh?"

Theo shrugs and the bells on his shoulders are chiming with the movement, "seems like it. Good job up there, little Wolf, you are really great with the kids."

Liam smiles, the beard once more dangling from his chin, he really hates how itchy that thing is, "couldn't have done it either you. After Beth got hurt it was pure chaos! That one mum, oh my God..."

He laughs, his eyes sparkling at the memory and that's it, Theo can feel his last string of self restraint rip.

With a deep breath he steps closer, making Liam back up to his chair and sit down with a surprised yelp when the seat hits the back of his knees.

"Actually, there is still one thing left for Santa Wolf to do…"

"Oh yeah?"

Theo smiles and he carefully lowers himself onto Liam's lap.

"Santa, I've been really good this year, will you fulfill my wish?"

Liam’s heart races in his chest but he smiles, his hands circling Theo's waist over the green elf shirt as he answers, "oh yeah? I don't know if you have been  _ that _ good… you might need to remind me…"

~🎄~

"Mummy, why are Santa and his elf kissing?"

"Because they love each other, honey, and now hurry, we need to pick up more mashed potatoes for your aunt Susan."


End file.
